CHP officer fatally shoots suspect in Stockton orchard

STOCKTON, -- Authorities say a California Highway Patrol officer shot and killed an armed man in a cherry orchard in a rural part of Stockton.

Officer James Smith, a CHP spokesman, said the officer was responding to a report of a reckless driver Saturday afternoon when he located a truck that had crashed into a tree. Smith said that when the officer approached the truck, its driver brandished a weapon, prompting the officer to fire in self-defense.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.

Smith declined to say what the weapon was because of the ongoing probe into the shooting. He said no one else was in the truck, but investigators were questioning witnesses involved in the incident.